# humidors vs coolerdors vs wineadors vs professional grade equipment



## cysquatch (Feb 27, 2013)

This is a pretty generalized question but I've been wondering this since I started reading here. What's the difference between a $15 coolerdor and a $10000 walk in humidor? Beside the obvious. I can keep my cigars in top smoking quality in a cooler just as well? Why spend so much?


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## cysquatch (Feb 27, 2013)

Just to add, there are guys who have thousands of dollars of cigars in coolers versus guys who have a couple hundred dollars worth of cigars in a $500 humidor. I guess it seems weird to me. Maybe I'm reading into it, but I guess wanted some opinions.


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## huskers (Oct 2, 2012)

Looks.......Some people like to have nice things to display and show off. Others would rather put more money back into the cigars themselves.

some don't have the money for a big humidor, some dont have the space, some people prolly dont own their living quarters, some peoples wives would prolly divorce them.

Tons of reasons.

It's almost like asking why do some people drive BMW's compared to a cheap beater.


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## divedoc (Mar 7, 2013)

Well, think about this: While it's certainly cheaper (and sometimes less hassle) to keep a dozen sticks in a Tupperware container, would you be okay with plunking that baby down on your nicely finished wooden desk, or on a handmade, non-Ikea bookshelf? And while it's arguably better to keep boxes in a cooler than in a large humidor, what would you rather see when you walk into your mancave, your own little corner of your house (and world by extension)?

Part of cigar culture is enjoying the finer things in life. I'm not settled by any means, but I have my rituals; I like to drop my butt in a chair on my deck, slowly light a nice cigar, and pick up some pleasure reading or just enjoy the sunset. Part of that culture, for whatever reason, involves real, natural objects...things made of wood, metal, tobacco. Someone who has been smoking cigars for a while might get tired of burping that Tupperdor, or just might get sick of staring at a plastic tub every time he wants a smoke. At that point, it's worth a bit of money to get some nice furniture that better fits the state of the hobby.

That said, no one should look down at any person who chooses to keep his/her cigars in less expensive storage. I understand, I've been there, and I still would rather spend my money on sticks than a wooden box. But one day, I want a beautiful, lacquered, high-grade cabinet, with a hefty lid that "whooshes" when I lift it, revealing the perfectly stored cigars within. It will add that much more to the ritual and make those little breaks that much more enjoyable.


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## nfusion770 (Apr 1, 2011)

Wineadors modulate temp as well as humidity. Some humidors do this as well. 
A humidor with the proper number of fans probably regulates humidity a little better than a coolidor.
Walk in humidors just have a ton of space.

Other than those practical aspects, it is basically a matter of looks. Coolidors are the best bang for the buck, but they have a very low WAF and tend to be stored out of the way. A nice humidor is a show piece and a very classy way to display all your beautiful smokes. When I wanted an Avallo, part of my leverage on the wife was that I could get rid of those ugly, giant coolers I have in the basement. She stopped in her tracks and gave me sort of an "I'm listening" look. I ordered with her blessing a few days later :smoke:.

Maybe there are more benefits that a more seasoned member could chime in with but that has always been my understanding.


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## Phidelt076 (Oct 17, 2006)

Here's my $0.02

I skipped past the tupperware stage so I can't comment on that one much.

I owned 3 or so of the smaller cheap desktop humidors early on. All were too small, far from maintenance free, and a source of frustration due to a bad seals and having to add water so often. The reason I went straight to these as opposed to tupperware was that I wanted something niceish looking for the desk to store them in.

Next up was the cooler. I had no problems with maintaining humidity and space wasn't an issue initially. The problem with the cooler is that it's an eyesore to me and the woman doesn't like it too much either. I still use it but it's tucked away in a closet.

Then I added a 28 bottle wine cooler. We both agreed it looked nicer and I like the fact that I could monitor the humidity level without opening the door. The pain for me was that I fell into the group that has condensation issues with wine coolers. I still use this as well but I leave it unplugged. 

Right now I have a full 28 bottle wine cooler and a full 150qt cooler. Both are rock solid on humidity levels but both are somewhat of an annoyance to me. Yes they do the job but they are somewhat of an inconvenience since everything isn't stored together and they both have become eyesores to me. I'm currently weighing my options between buying an Avallo/Aristocrat or taking a stab at building a cabinet myself.

At the end of the day I believe this is a natural progression for all of us. Early on anything over $2/stick was absurd to me just as anything over $100 for a humidor seemed like a waste of money. Now that enjoying a nice cigar has become more of an important hobby to me it has also become more important to keep them all stored together in one worry free location that allows for storage of singles and boxes that also looks like a nice piece of furniture that was intended for the room it is in.


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## CarnivorousPelican (Jan 25, 2013)

nfusion770 said:


> Wineadors modulate temp as well as humidity. Some humidors do this as well.
> A humidor with the proper number of fans probably regulates humidity a little better than a coolidor.
> Walk in humidors just have a ton of space.
> 
> ...


Can't wait to see the pics.. Because I ordered another wineador so that will be 2 but I can already see I will either need a big humidor wood like the Avallo or am going to need to get a 140+ bottle wine cooler... I haven't even got in my drawers yet or my 2nd 281E and am already looking at something larger until I settle down somewhere...

I believe (opinion) anything above a coolidor is a luxury... My wineador recovers very quickly ( within a couple of minutes) from opening it but I put in 3 lb's of HF beads... From what I have read all wooden humidors are going to leak etc so in my view ( opinion ) is that a fridge/cooler type deal is best ( opinion this maybe good or bad opinions roam ). Now some are more traditional some like to be state of the art it really depends I believe things like this reflect character or personality ( opinion ) Since it is the individuals choice... By the way Some will disagree like captrips but the walk in is my goal and to me ( opinion ) is the ultimate because then you don't have to worry about storage etc that is where I am eventually going to go with all of this because acquiring almost a thousand sticks in a matter of months I could easily see this in 10 years from now requiring a room and having a bunch of coolidor's cramps my style... The wineadors is where I draw the line because in a game room or office they fit in, but if I had a bunch of traditional mahogany etc then I would go with wood humidor but since I am crowded by racks, servers, black leather the wineadors fit right in  I am still young and a black leather chrome kinda of guy but I would like to move towards tobacco leather and wood  as I get older my tastes are becoming more refined...

I believe(opinion) it is more economics and depends on each individuals situation and obviously their interior decor  Not everyone can just throw out 10k on a humidor and not everyone is going to put out 12+k in cigars a year...


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## Mante (Dec 25, 2009)

cysquatch said:


> This is a pretty generalized question but I've been wondering this since I started reading here. What's the difference between a $15 coolerdor and a $10000 walk in humidor? Beside the obvious. I can keep my cigars in top smoking quality in a cooler just as well? Why spend so much?


Why have a motorcycle in your avatar when a moped would do?


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## CarnivorousPelican (Jan 25, 2013)

I would also like to add.. I think this is just like suits ( did he just bring up suits again ) yes I did  They have good suits that range from 500 to 50 thousand not everyone can spend 10k on a suit some can but choose to be more practical and get a optioned out Brooks Brother suit some are more the 3-5k suit and others are the 5-10k suit range... I believe cigars are very similar but atleast with cigars everyone can enjoy the upper end and get a taste which transcends economics but when talking about humidors etc I believe it is similar and you can find wonderful bespoke suits at good prices that don't require you to be a millionaire and I believe same applies... This is my 300th post.. So I am going to go smoke a cigar


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## nfusion770 (Apr 1, 2011)

I'll definitely post them but it will probably be early May before it gets here. My bar/ cigar area is always around 68-70 so I ordered the DDD, black (to match) and pretty much all the fixins. Looking forward to it.



CarnivorousPelican said:


> Can't wait to see the pics.. Because I ordered another wineador so that will be 2 but I can already see I will either need a big humidor wood like the Avallo or am going to need to get a 140+ bottle wine cooler... I haven't even got in my drawers yet or my 2nd 281E and am already looking at something larger until I settle down somewhere...
> 
> I believe (opinion) anything above a coolidor is a luxury... My wineador recovers very quickly ( within a couple of minutes) from opening it but I put in 3 lb's of HF beads... From what I have read all wooden humidors are going to leak etc so in my view ( opinion ) is that a fridge/cooler type deal is best ( opinion this maybe good or bad opinions roam ). Now some are more traditional some like to be state of the art it really depends I believe things like this reflect character or personality ( opinion ) Since it is the individuals choice... By the way Some will disagree like captrips but the walk in is my goal and to me ( opinion ) is the ultimate because then you don't have to worry about storage etc that is where I am eventually going to go with all of this because acquiring almost a thousand sticks in a matter of months I could easily see this in 10 years from now requiring a room and having a bunch of coolidor's cramps my style... The wineadors is where I draw the line because in a game room or office they fit in, but if I had a bunch of traditional mahogany etc then I would go with wood humidor but since I am crowded by racks, servers, black leather the wineadors fit right in  I am still young and a black leather chrome kinda of guy but I would like to move towards tobacco leather and wood  as I get older my tastes are becoming more refined...
> 
> I believe(opinion) it is more economics and depends on each individuals situation and obviously their interior decor  Not everyone can just throw out 10k on a humidor and not everyone is going to put out 12+k in cigars a year...


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## cysquatch (Feb 27, 2013)

Tashaz said:


> Why have a motorcycle in your avatar when a moped would do?


well technically a moped wont go much over 40-50, my bike does 130+ lol. that being said I do understand the point your making.


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## cysquatch (Feb 27, 2013)

So basically what I'm getting from everybody it has nothing to do with performance, its more about aesthetics. By no means am I bashing anyone here for how they choose to keep their cigars. I guess it just seemed like a good subject to speak about. 

So for the guys who keep their thousands of dollars of cigars in coolers, are more about their cigar collection, than the good looks of storage. I think I'm starting to understand.


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## nfusion770 (Apr 1, 2011)

forget it.


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## cysquatch (Feb 27, 2013)

Dave by no means am I bashing anybody, id love to spend a ton of money on a nice humidor setup. It's up to each person to decide how far into this hobby they want to get, and all that matters is how happy they are.


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## KaChong (Jan 1, 2012)

I started with a small coolidor and outgrew it pretty quickly. Things got silly when I started buying boxes and some of the boxes got drawn down to half full. I tried cedar trays so I could aggregate partial boxes and get rid of the dead space, but I found myself taking my whole stash apart every time I wanted to hmm and haw over what I was going to smoke next. Now I'm in a 35 bottle wine fridge I scooped on Kijiji for a mere $85. Glass door so I can stare at my goodies and make a choice instead of rummaging through everything. It took some doing to beat the condensation issue, but now the thing holds a steady 65%/65F with nary a drop of condensation. All told I've probably spent $250 on my setup which isn't free, but I've a nice setup of cedar trays which are really efficient with space, and an external temp controller which keeps things cool in the dead of summer. Big too. I think I can hold 400+ sticks in this thing.


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## CarnivorousPelican (Jan 25, 2013)

cysquatch said:


> So basically what I'm getting from everybody it has nothing to do with performance, its more about aesthetics. By no means am I bashing anyone here for how they choose to keep their cigars. I guess it just seemed like a good subject to speak about.
> 
> So for the guys who keep their thousands of dollars of cigars in coolers, are more about their cigar collection, than the good looks of storage. I think I'm starting to understand.


It isn't that they are more into the cigars they just see it as more practical and they would prefer to invest the money into cigars that they would spend on a humidor... Six in one hand and a half of dozen in the other... There is no damn way am having a room full of coolidors. lol that is just how I feel about it...


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## jabuan (Jan 20, 2013)

I do it to control mostly temp. I live in Hawaii and don't run my ac and don't wanna risk beetles. I also came across a haier 16 bottle NIB for 50 bucks.


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## nfusion770 (Apr 1, 2011)

cysquatch said:


> Dave by no means am I bashing anybody, id love to spend a ton of money on a nice humidor setup. It's up to each person to decide how far into this hobby they want to get, and all that matters is how happy they are.


I got that. I mis-read your post and realized my mistake. My apologies.


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## T3Hunter (Mar 12, 2013)

For myself, I am very new to the cigar scene. I have had a 50 count humidor that has sat mostly unused for years until I finally discovered GOOD cigars. Now I'm just over flowing into a coolidor as I've ordered cigars faster than I can expand. To me this is a short term solution to bridge the gap betwen having too much humidor for cigars and having too many cigars for a humidor.

Ultimately I'd love to have a large cabinet where I can visually enjoy my cigars even when I'm not smoking them. That is a huge part of my cigar experience as I tend to spend more of my time in a day not smoking than smoking. 

To each their own, but for me I would love to have a visual showpiece in my den for my own enjoyment. It has nothing to do with wealth or status (I have neither), it's just something that would make my house a home.


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## KaChong (Jan 1, 2012)

cysquatch said:


> So basically what I'm getting from everybody it has nothing to do with performance, its more about aesthetics. By no means am I bashing anyone here for how they choose to keep their cigars. I guess it just seemed like a good subject to speak about.
> 
> So for the guys who keep their thousands of dollars of cigars in coolers, are more about their cigar collection, than the good looks of storage. I think I'm starting to understand.


I chose to use a winedor primarily to keep my collection cool in the summer. I don't run my AC during the midday during the summer and my room temp can peak out at around 85F. When the AC kicks in before we get home, temp gets back down to around 72F. I don't like subjecting my stash to daily temp swings that strong because it also wreaks havoc on the RH. Also, cigar beetles can start to hatch when temperature gets up around 75F. Kept down at a cool 65F I keep the beetles at bay. I know doctrine is to freeze cigars, but for some reason I keep getting cracked wrappers. It might be because my cigars often endure a few flights to have them forwarded to me. Of my first batch of Liga Privada #9 smokes, about a quarter of them developed pretty severe cracks right after freezing. A lot of my stash has been hard to come by, I just can't bring myself to freeze them and risk cracking them. Anyways, if 65%/65RH is good enough for CubaTabac to suppress beetles and provide good aging conditions, it's good enough for me.


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## cysquatch (Feb 27, 2013)

I understand what some of you guys are saying with your analogies. But to an extent I would expect at some point for the priceier option to outperform the cheaper option? Am I right in saying this? The coolers and the pricy cabinet are basically doing the same thing. But is the pricey cabinet doing it better?


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## divedoc (Mar 7, 2013)

cysquatch said:


> I understand what some of you guys are saying with your analogies. But to an extent I would expect at some point for the priceier option to outperform the cheaper option? Am I right in saying this? The coolers and the pricy cabinet are basically doing the same thing. But is the pricey cabinet doing it better?


It's like anything, you get what you pay for...up to a point. The $100+ humidors are going to do a better job than the $30/giveaway humidors because they have higher quality construction and more than a hair's width of spanish cedar. The $1000+ humidors often use exotic woods and super-premium hardware, which doesn't necessarily help them retain humidity, but damn they look nice. Eventually, the more you spend, less you get back except for bragging rights and the personal satisfaction of owning a truly unique piece.


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## Phidelt076 (Oct 17, 2006)

cysquatch said:


> I understand what some of you guys are saying with your analogies. But to an extent I would expect at some point for the priceier option to outperform the cheaper option? Am I right in saying this? The coolers and the pricy cabinet are basically doing the same thing. But is the pricey cabinet doing it better?


Yes the pricier cabinets will do it better, mainly due to the thickness of and surface area of cedar in them. A cooler provides nothing aside from your cigars and humidity device to provide moisture. A cheap humidor has a super thin (veneer) to absorb moisture. The nicer cabinets have 1/2" to 3/4" solid Spanish cedar which absorbs the humidity. This will help your humidor rebound to the desired humidity almost instantly. The humidors with the thicker solid Spanish Cedar will always be the most reliable, stable, and maintenance free humidor given it has a good seal. Add in the precision of an Avallo Accumonitor or the Set and Forget humidifier from Aristocrat and you never have to worry about your cigars again.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Great points made in this thread, which seem to completely cover the issue (albeit reading between some lines), but I will leave you with this:

I drive a Lamborghini. You drive a Hyundai. 

Both get us to work and back.

What are you trying to achieve?

What are you willing to put up with?

The only difference is a matter of perspective.


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